Chapter 35 (Fairy Tail Campaign): Fallout
Short Summary Long Summary Kakashi awakens, surprised to not be in Coalition hands and in Medical. Tsunade then expresses relief, hating to have one of her best ninja out of action, and a Division Commander at that. Kakashi then frowns, saying he would have rather not woken up there. When Tsunade inquires, Kakashi guesses that Mirajane refused his order, prompting more questions from Tsunade. He explains that when Kizaru gave his ultimatum, Kakashi ordered Mirajane to leave him behind and save two others to try and make things easier for her. Tsunade then expresses disappointment in Kakashi, much to his surprise. She then shouts that he is the Commander of the Third Division, and they need their leader. When Kakashi says Jūshirō can easily replace him, Tsunade shouts Kakashi can’t be lazy or selfish about this, shocking the man. Tsunade angrily asks if Kakashi realizes the situation he put Mirajane in, since she knew she couldn’t leave the Commander behind, with Kakashi’s insistence making things more difficult. Tsunade repeats the accusation, making Kakashi lose his patience when she asks if he’s eager to die. Kakashi shouts that he just wanted to protect others for a change, calling himself a failure for his father, Minato, Rin, and Obito, thinking he can never save anyone when it counts. Tsunade then softens at this, admitting her failure to save her brother and fiancé, leading Kakashi to ask if she understands why he tried. Tsunade admits that she does, but reminds Kakashi that they are leaders, with people looking to them for guidance, and that they need to do what’s best for the group, not themselves. Kakashi realizes he messed up, deciding to apologize to Mirajane. Tsunade then changes the subject, surprising Kakashi. She elaborates that as the superior officer of the man in question, he has a right to know. When Kakashi asks about patient confidentiality, Tsunade states that her info is vital to the 3rd Division’s success. She then reveals that Natsu was injured, calling them fatal when Kakashi asks, and if it weren’t for Jūgo, they would have lost an Act real early in the war. Kakashi thinks about feeling a kindred spirit with Natsu, due to his charisma remarkably similar to Naruto’s. Kakashi realizes the essential role the Acts play in Alliance morale, thankful he’s all right. When Kakashi says he won’t shelter Natsu, Tsunade agrees, saying Natsu is too important to shelter, plus they’d probably have to fight him to keep him away. Kakashi notes the stubbornness shared amongst the Acts, remembering what happened when the attempt was made to confine Naruto in the Fourth Shinobi World War. Tsunade then explains Jūgo’s body structure, and how his ability served as the base for Orochimaru’s Curse Mark. Jūgo basically transferred his own cells into Natsu’s body, meaning he’s compatible with the Curse Mark. What really interests Tsunade was discovered in the tests run on Natsu. She then shows Kakashi Natsu’s medical file, telling him not skim it, and the contents shock Kakashi. Mirajane holds back tears as she hears mutterings from members of Squad 9 and 10, filled with misgivings and mistrust towards Mirajane for leaving their captains behind. News of Mirajane’s decision had basically become common knowledge within a few hours. While the words hurt, Mirajane concludes that she deserves it, accepting becoming a pariah as punishment for not being able to save comrades. Freed then stops the muttering with a deathly glare, calling it shameful. When Mirajane softly asks Freed to stop, he insists that it isn’t fair to be treated like that, and that her situation had no right or wrong answer. When Mirajane asks how he knows, Freed reveals he was with Laxus when the man woke up, with Mirajane raising an eyebrow at his “dedication”. Freed says Laxus is upset, but is understanding of and grateful to Mirajane, not blaming her for what happened. When Mirajane still broods over leaving Tōshirō and Kensei behind, Freed asks if things would be any better if she chose differently. He continues by saying if she had saved Tōshirō and Kensei, it would have been reversed, with Soul Reapers praising her, and the Wizards would call her a guild traitor, and everyone else would have hated her for leaving Kakashi behind. After admitting he probably would have been no different, Freed states that someone would hate Mirajane regardless of choice, and they just have to accept that part of fighting with the masses. Freed then calls Mirajane a good woman, and that her actually making the decision shows her mental strength, leading to the Strauss thanking him. In Crocus, Chitsujo has been informed by Kisuke of the loss. When Kisuke asks for orders for Kakashi, Chitsujo says he has none, but the Alliance needs to capitalize on the destruction of the Coalition’s ships. When Mei asks how, Chitsujo decides to destroy the other method of troop and supply movement, the Railroad. When Makarov protests due to the impact on Fiore’s economy, Chitsujo states railroads can be rebuilt. While this is a last resort, Chitsujo states the loss at Hargeon has forced their hand. Chitsujo then tells Kisuke to relay orders for Kakashi to put Hargeon under siege, while the closest Stealth units destroy the railroad coming out of the port. Hopefully, this will force them out of the city in desperation, and fight on Alliance terms. Chitsujo then gives orders for Sabo to start taking the railroad cities, turning back at Clover Town. The 2nd will then move to eventually form up with the 3rd. Chitsujo then moves on to what Soifon’s unit found, Nirvana, with Makarov cursing the weapon’s return. When Shanks asks what Nirvana is, Chitsujo asks Makarov to explain what the weapon does. After Makarov starts explaining its history and original purpose, Gaara surmises it can turn good into evil, and vice versa. When Mei asks why the Nirvit would create a weapon that would force people to change, Dragon replies that the intent was probably world peace, but A notes that magic went both ways. When Ōnoki asks if it’s really that simple and strong, Makarov confirms that it starts with those struggling between light and dark, continuously growing in strength. After Sting and Mei move to focus all possible efforts in destroying Nirvana before completion, Chitsujo decides to have the 1st and 5th form up and lead a joint assault on Nirvana and Orochimaru. Makarov interjects they must destroy it before the final stage, or the process will become extremely difficult, since they will have to destroy six lacrimas simultaneously. Chitsujo reads the report that the layout is generally the same, but a crucial change has put a cannon on top of Nirvana, aimed straight up. When Sting asks why, Chitsujo theorizes that they’ll probably fire Magic straight into the sky, with it raining down in a large radius to affect everyone. When Reina asks about the size, Chitsujo admits that the only way to find out is to see it. After noting the heavy protection, with Gaara calling the weapon a trump card, Sting asks if they can’t just send in Stealth Units, with Chitsujo saying that Nirvana will be too heavily guarded for anything but a frontal assault, and then dismissing everyone. Dragon remains behind, with Chitsujo asking what he has to say, wondering why he didn’t say it earlier. Dragon states that this discussion should be to themselves, considering the mood following the loss. Dragon remembers Gaara calling Nirvana the Coalition’s trump card, and reminds Chitsujo that isn’t the case, with the Acts of Chaos being the real trump cards. When Dragon asks why Chitsujo is downplaying their threat, the Watcher protests he isn’t, saying he can’t leave anything to chance and ignore Nirvana. When Chitsujo says they won’t have to worry about the Acts of Chaos, Dragon notes he’s referring to the Acts of Order, asking if he’s really considering sending boys against such opponents. Chitsujo admits he’d rather face them himself, even though he will only get involved if he must due to the potential damage, but he created the Acts to defeat their counterparts, telling Dragon to have more faith in them. Dragon concedes, but reminds Chitsujo that Luffy is still his son. Chitsujo understands, and promises to not put Luffy into any situation he can’t handle. With Dragon giving his trust, Chitsujo thanks him. Mirajane is called to Kakashi’s tent, expecting the riot act. When she enters, she notices that Sasuke is also there. When Mirajane asks why he’s there, Sasuke says he was just checking in, telling him what happened in the city. As Sasuke moves to leave, Kakashi starts to discuss with Mirajane. Sasuke stays to eavesdrop outside the tent, curious how Kakashi will handle the situation. Mirajane notes she disobeyed a direct order, preparing herself to accept any punishment. Kakashi shakes his head, saying there’s no reason to punish someone for disobeying an unreasonable order. After Mirajane protests the order wasn’t, Kakashi admits to putting Mirajane in a terrible situation, apologizing for making her decision more difficult. Mirajane admits that she partly wanted to follow the order, but she knew the 3rd needed its commanding officer. After Kakashi apologizes again for being selfish, he offers to fix her treatment from the Soul Reapers, which Mirajane declines. Kakashi insists the treatment isn’t fair, but Mirajane sees no point, since she would’ve been a pariah no matter who she saved. Kakashi concedes, and Mirajane expresses the hope that Tōshirō and Kensei are still alive. Right after Kakashi dismisses Mirajane, Sasuke interrupts by saying the two are probably alive, surprising the Wizard. When Mirajane asks why he thinks so, Sasuke explains his encounter with Franmalth, while elaborating on the Demon’s abilities. Mirajane remembers Natsu bragging about beating the Demon with a big rock, and then asks Sasuke to be clear. Sasuke tells her that they’re probably still alive because Franmalth would greedily absorb them to increase his strength. When Mirajane asks if the process would kill them, Sasuke thinks that powers like Franmalth’s work both ways, reassuring Mirajane that the two Soul Reapers can be saved. Mirajane leaves with a smile and thanks, giving Sasuke his own little smile. One of Chitsujo’s soldiers walks up, asking if this is Kakashi’s tent, explaining that he has new orders for the 3rd from Intelligence and Chitsujo. This surprises Sasuke, but then he muses that a little direction might get everyone’s spirits up. Tsunade returns to Natsu with the test results, promising he can leave after their talk. First, she shows an x-ray of Natsu’s body, detailing his flow of Magic Energy. She then points to another x-ray with something different. She makes Natsu recall Jūgo’s unique body structure, due to accessing Sage Mode. Once Tsunade took a closer look, she realized Natsu’s body naturally reacted to Jūgo’s cells, with the other x-ray showing Natural Energy. To put it simply, Natsu has gained access to Natural Energy, the first step to becoming a Sage. This makes Natsu recall Naruto showing off his Sage powers in Chitsujo’s palace, and he asks how it’s possible for a non-ninja to be a Sage. Tsunade thinks about a theory, asking if Dragon Slayer training alters the body, with Natsu confirming he has dragon lungs for fire breathing, dragon claws for fire attacks, and dragon scales to handle fire, fitting into Tsunade’s theory. Tsunade then explains that Sage Mode is accessed by training with an animal that has a summoning contract signed, citing Naruto and the Toads. As Natsu exclaims about it being cool, with Happy eager to see talking toads, Tsunade smacks the two to be quiet. After Natsu mutters about her being scarier than Erza, Tsunade mentions that other animals, like Snakes and Slugs, can also train people for Sage Mode. When Natsu asks what this has to do with him, Tsunade explains that sometimes users of Sage Mode take on the qualities of their animal trainers when using it, like Jiraiya, Naruto, and Kabuto. Jūgo’s cells interacted with Natsu’s dragon-like qualities, combining to create the very first Dragon Sage. After a moment, Natsu screams about becoming an awesome Sage, promising Naruto he will be stronger than him. This causes Naruto to sneeze as he marches with the 5th. Appearing Characters Kakashi Hatake Tsunade Mirajane Strauss Freed Justine Chitsujo Kisuke Urahara Mei Terumī Makarov Dreyar Shanks Sting Eucliffe Gaara Monkey D. Dragon Ōnoki A Reina Mikazuchi Goldmine Bob Ooba Sasuke Uchiha Natsu Dragneel Happy Naruto Uzumaki Previous/Next Chapter Previous Chapter: Chapter 34 (Fairy Tail Campaign): First Loss Next Chapter: Chapter 36 (Fairy Tail Campaign): The Battle of Red WillowCategory:First Hargeon Arc Category:Chapters Category:Fairy Tail Campaign